Bio

Sam Clayton was named as the ninth head coach of the Michigan Tech women's basketball program in May 2018 and holds a 95-45 (.679) record at the helm of the program with two NCAA appearances. Clayton returned to Tech from the University of Sioux Falls where she served as an assistant coach. Clayton was a standout player for the Huskies, helping lead the program to the 2010-11 NCAA Division II National Championship game as well as garnering multiple individual awards, including All-American Honorable Mention honors.

In her sixth season at the helm of the Huskies, Clayton led Michigan Tech to the fourth seed in the GLIAC Tournament, finishing with an overall record of 15-12 and 11-7 in the GLIAC. She won her 100th career-game vs. Saginaw Valley on Dec. 7. She saw three players score their 1,000th career point in Sara Dax, Alex Rondorf and Katelyn Meister. Clayton guided a trio of Huskies to All-Conference accolades with Isabella Lenz repeating as a First Team All-GLIAC Honoree while Katelyn Meister and Alex Rondorf earned Second Team All-GLIAC. Meister was also named to the GLIAC All-Defense team. Saw three team records fall in best field goal percentage .735 (36-49), most three-point field goals made (17), best three-point field goal percentage .708 (17-24) at Wayne State (Feb. 22.).

Clayton guided a young Tech squad to an 18-11 overall record in 2021-22 and an appearance in the GLIAC Semifinals, where the Huskies fell to No. 2 ranked Grand Valley State 71-57. Last season, the Huskies finished 25-7 overall, including 15-3 in the GLIAC (second place) and a perfect 14-0 home record. Michigan Tech made a run to the GLIAC Tournament Championship but fell to No. 1 seed Grand Valley State 62-54. The Huskies earned the No. 4 seed at the NCAA Midwest Region Championship but fell to Trevecca Nazarene 65-63 in the quarterfinals in Ashland, Ohio.

In 2020-21, Clayton's Huskies finished 20-2 overall, including a run of 19 consecutive victories, which tied the school record. Michigan Tech defeated Davenport, Saginaw Valley State, and Ashland to secure their 17th GLIAC Tournament Championship and won the GLIAC North Division Title during the regular season. The Huskies earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Midwest Region Tournament and fell in the semifinals (Ashland) while sophomore guard Ellie Mackay earned All-America Honorable Mention.

In her first season at Tech (2018-19), Clayton guided the Huskies to a 21-9 overall record and a 16-4 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The Huskies claimed their 16th GLIAC North Division/Conference title and were the No. 3 seed in the conference tournament. In her second season (2019-20), Clayton guided the Huskies to their 30th consecutive Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament appearance, where they were semifinalists with a 21-9 overall record (16-4 GLIAC).

Clayton brings a wealth of coaching experience to Tech from both the NCAA Division I and II levels. In Clayton's most recent stop at the University of Sioux Falls, she was involved in all facets of the program. She played an integral role in player development, served as the recruiting coordinator, created scouting reports, ran summer camps, and had responsibilities for film breakdown.

Prior to serving as the assistant coach at USF, Clayton was an assistant coach at NCAA Division I Youngstown State University under former Tech head coach John Barnes. Clayton worked with the guards, did film breakdown, created scouting reports, and had recruiting responsibilities in Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, and Indiana.

Clayton helped guide the Penguins to a 21-13 record during the 2015-16 campaign and a spot in the semifinals of the WBI Tournament. In addition, Youngstown State had the third highest team GPA in NCAA Division I that season. Mary Dunn was named the Freshman of the Year in the Horizon League following the 2016-17 season.

Clayton also coached at the NCAA Division II level during the 2014-15 season as an assistant at Northwood University in Midland.

"I'm excited that Sam is returning to Tech as the new head coach of our storied women's basketball program," Michigan Tech Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret said. "Sam is a solid leader who has integrity, character, and the desire to prepare and develop student-athletes to be their best on and off the court. She brings a wealth of experience to Michigan Tech as both a coach and student-athlete at the collegiate level. I look forward to working with Sam in the years to come as she continues to grow and advance Tech women's basketball."

"I'm confident that Sam will continue to build upon the success the team has enjoyed through the years." Vice President for Student Affairs and Advancement Les P. Cook said. "Sam has demonstrated outstanding success as both a student-athlete and now as a coach. These experiences will provide her a great foundation as she leads our program forward. I'm incredibly happy to have Sam returning "home" to continue to carry on the legacy of success that is Michigan Tech women's basketball."

Clayton is Michigan Tech's seventh all-time leading scorer, amassing 1,434 career points during her four-year career which spanned 124 games. Clayton owns the second highest career free throw percentage in program history at 84.8 percent and is tied for the second highest single season free throw percentage at 89.5 percent. The Huskies boasted an overall record of 103-22 during her career as a player.

Hoyt was a Team Captain, First Team All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference selection, and a two-time WBCA All-America Honorable Mention honoree following her junior and senior seasons. Clayton was an excellent student in the classroom, receiving All-GLIAC Academic Excellence honors each of her four seasons. She was a Second Team Capital One CoSIDA Academic All-American as a junior and was named to the First Team at the conclusion of her senior season.